Monthly Archives: January 2016

Are Reviews Of Importance For A Local Business?

reviewsHave you noticed how many online retailers, e-commerce sites, and even service oriented business are highlighting online reviews, even for their local businesses? You have probably been asked to provide a review in a follow-up email or even at the time of your online purchase.

If this seems to be more common now than a few years ago you are right, but it may not be for the reasons you think. If your company isn’t using online reviews from customers and clients, you will find you are missing out on a literal goldmine of possibilities to boost your website on search engine rankings and increase your visibility.

Keywords and SEO

You have probably heard about SEO or search engine optimization, and how it uses a complex algorithm that includes keywords. Keywords, which can also be phrases, have to be carefully selected to match what the people looking for your website will use to search.

By using these keywords in headers, descriptions, and occasionally in content, the search engine crawlers will index your site for those keywords. However, using them too often, or “keyword stuffing” can actually hurt your rankings.

When you have customer’s leaving reviews, they will use search terms, including your keywords. These, since they are in reviews and not generated content by your company, will not hurt your search engine rankings and will only add to the effectiveness.

The Added Benefit of LSI

Another very important element of customer reviews is the use of what is known as LSI. LSI stands for Latent Semantic Index, which can be thought of as informal secondary keywords.

reviewsFor example, if you are selling bird feeders your keyword would be bird feeders. Secondary or LSI keywords could include bluebird feeders, hummingbird feeders, hanging birdfeeders, decorative bird feeders and so on.

When your customers write a review, it is highly likely they will use the LSI or keyword/secondary keyword they used in the search engine in the title of the review or in the text. Unique LSI words, local phrases, and other local terms will be indexed as well, further boosting your rankings.

Local reviews also attract local customers as reliable, trustworthy sources of accurate information about your products, services, and business. When customers realize that the reviewer is someone in their area, it automatically becomes a higher ranked source of information. It is a good idea to have the reviewer indicate their location as part of the information collected and displayed with the review.

Ranking systems using checks, stars, or number scales are also a quick source for potential online customers on how a business is doing business. Even if there is a problem if that is resolved quickly and effectively a customer is likely to provide a high rating and a positive comment, further reinforcing the credibility of your business.

As a top marketing company in New York City, we can help you to develop feedback rating systems that will boost your online visibility for your local market and beyond. Give us a call today at 212-686-0806 and we can get started.

The Importance Of A Mobile Website

Regardless of the type of products or services you offer, having a mobile friendly website is now a primary focus for any business. It is important not just for convenience for a few online shoppers, but because about 47% of all searches online are now completed from tablets or smartphones, and not from desktops.

Mobile

By the end of 2015 it is anticipated by online marketing experts that well over 50% of all purchases made online will be completed through mobile devices. When you don’t have a way to connect to this market, you are potentially losing out on up to 50% of potential new clients.

Here are some other interesting facts about the increasing use of mobile devices:

  • When comparing data usage across devices within the United States approximately 51% is mobile devices compared to about 42% from desktops.

  • There are approximately 4 billion mobile devices in use around the world, with 91% of adults having a cell phone according to Pew Research.

  • The United States has the third ranking for countries around the world for cell phones in use, exceeded only by China at number one and
    India at number two.

  • About 33% of all mobile device users start their search on a branded website and 26% start with a branded app. While search engines are still the top at 48%, this number is on the decline, especially in the category of beauty and apparel as well as finance.

What is Mobile Friendly?

Having a mobile friendly website doesn’t mean you have to have a different page or a different site. Instead, it relies on a program known as Responsive Web Design or RWD.

mobile-website1

In a nutshell, this allows the website developer to customize what any person will see when viewing your website from a particular type of device. Items on the website as well as the website pages will automatically resize, shift, scroll and display to optimize viewing on a smaller or larger screens.

For small screens, such as smartphones, the responsive web design program will convert navigation systems to enhance the user experience. Buttons or “click” icons will change to touch screen friendly options that can easily be controlled with swiping or scrolling.

These sites will automatically change the content as well to avoid crowding or cluttering of smaller screens on smartphones and tablets. The “extras” will not be visible on a mobile site, leaving more room for the information your customers need to learn about the products and services you offer.

With our extensive experience in designing mobile friendly websites we can get your website ready for online marketing on any device. To schedule an appointment with our team, give us a call today.